Affiliate Programs: Why Do You Want to Be An Affiliate?

You’ve likely heard the term “affiliate programs” and “affiliate marketing”, particularly among freelancers or those looking to add another income stream to their annual earnings. 

Have you ever considered earning passive income, either as a full-time career or as an additional income stream on top of your day job?

Sit back, grab a cuppa, and take a read as we familiarize you with affiliate programs as well as what you should and shouldn’t be doing as an affiliate marketer. 

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a marketing arrangement which involves sending people from your own network, email list, or website to a partner website, and then earning a percentage of the money those contacts spend on that website. 

If you think about it, it’s a very interesting way to make some extra money on the side although some people do it full-time and have had great success as a result. 

But is that all affiliate marketing is? Simply sending people to a partner website and earning a commission every time those people buy anything from that site? 

Well, let’s give you a broader view of the world of affiliate marketing:

Affiliate marketing fundamentally works by spreading the various tasks associated with product marketing across several parties. As such, it leverages the skills or abilities of multiple individuals for a more expansive marketing strategy, all the while providing contributors (that’s you) with a share of the revenue. 

To make the above work, three parties are generally involved:

1. The seller and product creator

2. The affiliate or advertiser (again, you!)

3. The consumer

As an affiliate marketer/advertiser, you might get paid in different ways, such as on a ‘pay per lead’, ‘pay per sale’, ‘pay per install’ or ‘pay per click’ basis. All of these are pretty much self-explanatory. The most common is ‘pay per sale’ although commission rates vary wildly.  The 50% offered by ZandaX training is about the highest we’ve seen, but because it’s quite a niche offering the opportunities are limited to those with a training focus.  Depending on the arrangement you make with the seller and/or product owner, you might choose any of the above. 

Want to know how to become a good affiliate marketer to enjoy a steady stream of income? Here are the dos and don’ts of affiliate marketing:

Dos Of Affiliate Marketing 

Choose the right affiliate marketing program

The “right” affiliate marketing program might mean different things to different people. So what does that mean to you?

It’s important to go with an affiliate program that’s relevant to both your interests at heart and particularly your audience. For example, if your followers are always getting useful recommendations from you, your trust levels and credibility will only grow as an affiliate marketer. 

So, always keep your audience’s needs in mind. Resist the urge to choose too generic or unrelated affiliate programs – you’ll likely waste your time and make little to no income. 

Also, while we’re on the subject of choosing the right affiliate program, always look into the brand’s reputation you want to work with. If you choose brands and affiliate programs that have been around for at least a while and have largely gained positive feedback from their existing affiliates, then that is a safe bet. 

Always be transparent 

Honesty and transparency are two of the tallest and strongest pillars of effective affiliate marketing. 

Make it a habit to disclose your affiliate partnerships on your website, social media channels, website, or whatever channel(s) you are using to keep your audience informed and promote affiliate links. 

An affiliate disclosure doesn’t have to be an overly lengthy message but rather a short, sweet, and simple one that states how you will earn a percentage on sales via the links you are actively promoting. That’s it, job done!

As a ‘best practice, place this disclaimer or message close to the affiliate links.

Provide value

Doesn’t this one sound too similar to the first “do”? Well, it isn’t! Let’s elaborate:

Readers are not just going to blindly follow an affiliate offer unless it appeals to their interests. 

Assuming you’re promoting travel insurance as part of the affiliate program, you might write a useful blog or two on your website which compares leading insurance products in your vicinity. Your audience will certainly appreciate this and are more likely to click on the affiliate link you so cleverly snuck into the blog post (hehe).

Don’ts Of Affiliate Marketing

Never mislead your audience

… Or make empty promises, for that matter! 

The success of any affiliate marketing program revolves largely around trust. If you want to earn consistent income as an affiliate marketer, then you need to build credibility, not just for your followers but also the brands you are promoting. 

So, this means not making any false claims or putting out information about the product/brand that may be deemed misleading. 

Affiliate campaigns are distinct from advertising – they set out to recommend a product which is ideal for solving an audience’s pain points. Plus, the brand you are promoting will not be happy if your campaign is overly salesy and doesn’t create a positive, appealing image in front of potential buyers. 

Don’t fall victim to the “niche nightmare”

Did you know that one of the biggest, most common mistakes affiliate marketers make is selecting niches that are highly saturated? They often don’t conduct enough research into choosing their niche and, instead, simply choose one that is popular and trending. 

An ideal way to choose your niche and also in a way that maximizes chances of success is to be super-specific. What does that mean though?

“Self-care products”, for instance, is a very broad and overly saturated niche so you’ll already have stiff competition. But in a niche like, say, “shampoo and conditioner”, there’s going to be less competition. 

Research and choose wisely!

Don’t Lose Heart

There’s no such thing as overnight success in the world of affiliate marketing. 

It is most certainly the result of long hours and consistent effort which leads to a steady income stream. It will take time and dedication, and you might also deal with a few disappointments along the way, but if you follow our guidance, you’ll get there. And it will be worth it!